Athens organizers met behind closed doors with the International Olympic Committee's 15-member executive board at the end a two-day meeting at IOC headquarters.

Afterward, chief Athens organizer Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki left the building without speaking to reporters. Other officials said they would not comment.

Rogge said the preparations in Athens reminded him of the theme music from the 1964 movie "Zorba the Greek."

"It starts very slowly, then it accelerates," Rogge said. "The tune's now slowing down again."

Rogge, who was head of the IOC coordination team for Athens before he was elected the organization's president in 2001, has long kept a close watch on Greek preparations for the games. His visits were marked by frustration over delays in venue construction and leadership changes in the organizing committee.

The situation grew so bad by 2000 that the IOC warned that Athens could be in danger of having the games taken away. But later the IOC said plans were back on track.

"Six months ago, I delivered an optimistic message," Rogge said. "I regret to say that in the last six weeks, there's been slippage in the deadlines.

Rogge said there had been delays before _ weeks and sometimes months _ but they weren't as troublesome then because the Olympics were so far away.

"The games will take place in Athens, there's no doubt about that," Rogge added. "What is at stake is the quality of the games" if venues are not ready.

The IOC says there are major concerns over the sluggish renovation of Karaeskaki stadium, the venue that will host soccer games. The Greek government said construction would begin by Jan. 10, and later pushed it back to Feb. 15, but work has yet to begin.

"If the construction doesn't begin in due time, there will be no soccer in Athens," Rogge said, noting that matches might have to be played outside the host city. "But this is a worst-case scenario."

The IOC also is concerned about months of delays with a key security contract. Athens committee spokesman Antonis Fourlis told reporters that the contract _ with a company that will supply security equipment _ would be signed within 10 days.

Rogge said security was of "paramount importance."

Despite the equipment delay, the IOC has praised Greek efforts to boost security in other areas. Last year police broke up a deadly Greek terrorist group that had evaded authorities for nearly 30 years.

Earlier Friday, IOC director general Francois Carrard said the IOC was pleased with preparations for the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, and was confident that the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, were on track.

"Everything is running smoothly, and we're extremely satisfied with the stage of developments in Beijing," he said following the executive board's video conference with Chinese organizers.

In Turin, progress was good, "but there are still some issues to be resolved," Carrard said, citing a need to boost sponsorship for the games.

On Thursday, Turin organizers announced a deal with Fiat. Upheaval at the struggling Italian automaker had delayed an official announcement.

Rogge said the IOC would carefully watch the result of a weekend referendum in Vancouver, British Columbia, on whether the city should host the 2010 Games. Residents of the western Canadian city will vote on the issue Saturday.

"The IOC clearly only wants to organize games in those cities where the population is in favor," Rogge said. "If you have overwhelming negative sentiment, there's no use in having games there."

Other finalists are Salzburg, Austria, and Pyeongchang, South Korea, with the IOC scheduled to make a decision in July.